Uzbekistan has officially approved an international agreement to conduct feasibility studies for the Afghan-Trans railway project. President Shawkat Mirziyoyev confirmed this commitment by signing a decree.
The agreement establishes a framework for cooperation among Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Transport, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Works, and Pakistan’s Ministry of Railways, focusing on the development of a feasibility study for a new railway line as part of the broader Afghan-Trans railway initiative.
According to Bakhtar News Agency and Uzbek media reports, the decree tasks Uzbekistan’s Ministries of Transport and Foreign Affairs with updating the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and Pakistan on the progress of internal project phases.
This collaboration is based on a trilateral cooperation document signed last year between Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan, aimed at studying the “Termiz–Kharrachi” railway corridor. The railway line is set to traverse Termiz, Naibabad, Maidan-Shahr, Logar, and Kharrachi, creating a vital connection between Central Asia and South Asia via Afghanistan.
Feasibility studies will be led by the Trilateral Office for the Development of International Transport Corridors under Uzbekistan Railways, which was established in Tashkent in 2023 and has branches in Kabul and Islamabad.
Recent estimates suggest the project will cost between $7 billion and $8.2 billion, with one potential implementation model being a public-private partnership based on the “Build, Operate, and Transfer” framework.
The implementation of this project is anticipated to enhance trade integration among regional countries while providing Afghanistan with significant financial benefits and improved access to imports and exports.
